Update on Retrogression
The U.S. Department of State recently released the March 2008 Visa Bulletin, which indicates the availability of immigrant visas (green cards) for the month of March 2008. Dramatic advances in the cut-off dates occurred in the EB-3 category (the category that covers nurses) for Philippines (more than 2 years), India (almost 3 months) and all countries except China, India, Mexico and Philippines (more than 2 years). This sudden advance in the cut-off dates is an effort by the State Department to guarantee that the full annual quota of immigrant visas is used before the end of the current fiscal year (September 30, 2008). In addition, the State Department, by making more immigrant visas available earlier in this fiscal year, is attempting to avoid the chaos and confusion that resulted near the end of the last fiscal year in July 2007 when the remaining supply of unused immigrant visas were suddenly made available to all countries in all categories. It must be noted, however, that the March 2008 Visa Bulletin warns that if the expected increase in immigrant visa usage materializes; future cut-off date movements could slow or stop.
We remain hopeful that new laws will be enacted soon to decrease the present waiting periods for nurses to immigrate to the United States. We base our hope on the fact that the current critical shortage of nurses in the U.S. demands immediate action so that the U.S. healthcare system can continue to operate effectively. In addition, in the past, new laws have been enacted to address the shortage of nurses in the U.S. by allowing more foreign nurses into the U.S. Finally, several legislative solutions have been and continue to be proposed and debated.
Various groups of healthcare employers, nurse recruiting companies, and related entities and persons are presently lobbying for a legislative solution. The present focus is on short-term immediate relief for nurses. In addition, long-term permanent relief is being pursued. Specific proposals include exempting nurses from the annual immigrant visa quota restrictions, increasing the number of immigrant visas available in the EB-3 quota category that applies to nurses and creating a new nonimmigrant visa to allow nurses to come to the U.S. immediately to start work while waiting for the immigrant visa process (“green card”) to be completed. Hospitals and nurse recruiters in the U.S. are encouraged to contact their Senators and Congressmen to express their support for these legislative efforts to relieve the current shortage of nurses in the U.S. by speeding up the process to bring foreign nurses to the U.S.
Tags: EB-3 Category, green card, Healthcare, Immigrant Visas (I-140 Petitions), Immigration Solutions, RETROGRESSION
